What is Brainstorming?

Brainstorming is the name given to a situation when a group of people meet
to generate new ideas around a specific area of interest. Using rules which
remove inhibitions, people are able to think more freely and move into new
areas of thought and so create numerous new ideas and solutions. The participants
shout out ideas as they occur to them and then build on the ideas raised by
others. All the ideas are noted down and are not criticized. Only when the
brainstorming session is over are the ideas evaluated.

This is the traditional way brainstorming is done. The aim of this website
is to train you in the methods of traditional brainstorming and then to move
on and discover a series of advanced techniques available to you.

Some other definitions:

Brainstorming is a process for generating new ideas

Brainstorming is "a conference technique by which a group attempts
to find a solution for a specific problem by amassing all the ideas spontaneously
by its members" - Alex Osborn

To brainstorm is to use a set of specific rules and techniques which encourage
and spark off new ideas which would never have happened under normal circumstances

So there you have it: brainstorming will help you come up with new ideas. And
not only will you come up with new ideas but you will do so with surprisingly
little effort. Brainstorming makes the generation of new ideas easy and is a
tried-and-tested process. Exactly what you apply brainstorming techniques to
depends on what you want to achieve. You can apply them to develop new products,
services and processes in your job, or you can apply them to develop your personal
life.

You can think of this as either a holistic experience if you are naturally creative,
or if you are naturally logical then you can think of it as a process of following
logical rules which will stimulate your mind to think of a problem from a different
angle.

If you follow the brainstorming rules
then brainstorming will work whatever your personal style. Naturally, there
are techniques and environments which suit certain people better than others
but brainstorming is flexible enough to be able to suit everyone. Whether you
do brainstorming with a group of excited colleagues or you do advanced brainstorming
by yourself in an isolated room will
be up to your personal preference and circumstance. Both will be successful
if you read and follow the pages on this website. We also introduce the use
of specialized computer software
to aid your brainstorming sessions.

Traditional Brainstorming

The normal view of brainstorming is where a group of people sit in a room and
shout out ideas as they occur to them. They are told to lose their inhibitions
and that no ideas will be judged so that people are free to shout out any ideas
at all without feeling uncomfortable. People should build on the ideas called
out by other participants. The purpose of this is to gain as many ideas as possible
for later analysis. Out of the many ideas suggested there will be some of great
value. Because of the free-thinking environment, the session will help promote
radical new ideas which break free from normal ways of thinking.

Advanced Brainstorming

The model we propose is an extension of the traditional brainstorming scenario
and makes the whole process easier and more effective. Advanced brainstorming
builds on the current methods of brainstorming to produce more original ideas
in a more efficient way. Specialized techniques, better processes and better
awareness, combined with new technologies, make traditional brainstorming a
less frustrating process. Most of the problems associated with traditional brainstorming
disappear as a more effective process is used. Keep on reading for more details
of how you can do advanced brainstorming for great profit to you and your organization.

materials from this website. While we provide free training at this site,
if you or your organisation want to use this information on your own PC
or network or as in-house training then we require you to purchase
a licence for it. This money will be used to fund expansion of this
website and the training you will be receiving.

But first, let's learn the details of traditional
brainstorming so we can prepare ourselves properly. Let's start with its
origins and uses ...

By pressing the "n" key you are moved to the Next page. By pressing
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move swiftly through the training material at a pace that suits you. Alternatively
you can click on the yellow door to continue the yellow (Brainstorming) tour
or click on the house to return to the table of contents.